No. 18 proves the toughest finishing hole around

Closing hole ruins several golfers' shots at title

Sergio Garcia may have walked off the 17th hole at Sawgrass as The Players Championship winner, but it was the nefarious 18th where he changed the tournament.

It was Garcia's ability to tame the hole almost no one else could Sunday that forced the playoff on the island green, where the tie was broken.

Always the toughest hole of the tournament, 18 was especially tough Sunday with a fierce wind blowing and players afraid to hit their tee shots anywhere near the water-bordered left side of the fairway.

And with icy greens all over the course, the 18th was as slippery as any.

Jeff Quinney was one of many who discovered it. He and Garcia were tied approaching the last green, but Quinney's second shot slid through the putting surface and into a bunker. That led to a bogey and finished his day.

"I pretty much had no shot out of that bunker," Quinney said. "The last thing I wanted to do was leave it in there. I just wanted to give myself a putt."

Garcia, meanwhile, chipped to within 7 feet and dropped in the par putt to put the pressure on Paul Goydos.

After the putt went in, Garcia slammed down his club and gave his caddie an enthusiastic slap of the hand. It was one of 22 pars at the hole, and he knew Goydos would be hard-pressed to match it.

"I actually had a little grin when I was going into the ball, because ... I felt so calm," Garcia said. "And I was like, you know, I don't know if this is going to be enough or not, but I'm going to make this putt, and I'm at least going to make Paul work a little bit. You know, I was so happy to see that putt go in."

Garcia's assessment was correct, of course. Goydos laid up 45 yards in front of the green. His chip left him with a 14-foot putt for par and the win. When it just missed, Garcia had himself a shot at the title, and Goydos had the 35th bogey of the fourth round.

To put into perspective the difficulty of the hole, there were four birdies Sunday. And there were 10 double bogeys and three scores worse than that. Because of the ultra-fast greens and ridiculous wind (up to 40 mph), anything better than a bogey seemed like victory for anyone.

Briny Baird was the first player in the clubhouse with a score below par. His 1-under finish ended up being good enough for fourth.

Although he was nowhere near the lead at the time, Baird still walked off the 18th acting as if he had really accomplished something.

"I think it's hard for people to understand who are watching outside how difficult the golf course is playing," he said. "It's unbelievable that someone right now is at 6 under par."

Thanks in part to the problems posed by 18, finishing below par was a demanding feat. In fact only five players completed the tournament at par or better.

The chances of former Players champ -- and runner-up, too -- Stephen Ames took a dive when he failed to solve 18's challenges. He missed the fairway one his drive, as did the majority of golfers Sunday.

Short of the green with his second shot, Ames chipped onto and then through the green into the sand. He ended up with a two-putt, and his double bogey kept him from heading into the clubhouse at 2 under, which at the time was four shots off the lead.

"It's a tough hole," Ames said. "The chip really surprised me. I thought it would grab a little bit and it never did."

While 18 just left an exclamation point on a lot of difficult, if not downright miserable, rounds, it certainly ruined a few.

No one had more trouble on the closing hole than Richard Sterne. He wasn't going to finish anywhere near the lead, but Sterne was enjoying a respectable day at par until the last hole. But a 5-over nine there erased the morning's work and left him near the bottom of the field at 12 over.

Nobody played the back nine Sunday better than David Toms, who teed off in the morning. But even his 4-under 32 included a bogey on 18.